Kemialliset Ystävät (roughly translated, Chemical Friends) return to the fray on August 9th with a new download only single, ‘Kivikasan Rauhassa’. Preceding the release of ‘Ullakkopalo’, the bands fifth album for Fonal (KY’s primary musical outlet), the title track is backed by two exclusive recordings, which together form an interrelated textural whole, and highlight Kemialliset Ystävät’s collaborative nature in microcosm.

An expansive, amorphous entity, based largely in Finland, Kemialliset Ystävät is essentially orchestrated and directed by one Jan Anderzén. Since KY’s inception in 1995, Jan has collaborated with over 100 musicians, (including múm, C Spencer Yeh and Islaja) and has had upwards of 40 recordings released in all manner of formats on a variety of labels across the globe, from lathe cut 8” picture discs to 3” CD’s. The tracks on Kivikasan Rauhassa feature no less than ten co-collaborators under Jan’s guiding hand. Aside from Jan himself, contributors include Lars Mattila, Kevin Regan, Neil Campbell, Jonna Karanka (Kuupuu), Juho Kaitajärvi, Elissa Määttänen, Lars Mattila, Pekko Käppi, and Joshua Stevenson.

Although Kemialliset may sit relatively comfortably among such experimental luminaries as Black Dice, Oneohtrix Point Never, Animal Collective, and Skaters and their ilk, these recordings also reflect Jan’s geographical location, not to mention his own specific agenda.
The music is a law unto itself. Fluid enough to appear almost dreamed up, this sleight of hand belies an obsessive attention to detail. Making use of an array of instruments including guitars, bass, traditional instruments, samplers and circuit bent electronics, patterns form and dissolve before reinstating themselves – sometimes fleetingly, sometimes with a longer, more melodic or rhythmic pull.